Recommendations
Recommendation 2.1
The Committee recommends that in order to strengthen the
protection of Australia’s heritage the Government should take a broader role in
heritage protection than what is being proposed and hence that its efforts
should not be limited to sites on the proposed National and Commonwealth lists.
Recommendation 2.2
The Committee recommends that the Government actively pursue
measures to achieve common standards and benchmarks for the identification,
assessment and management of heritage places Australia wide and that high
standards and benchmarks are set in order to improve heritage protection
outcomes.
Recommendation 2.3
The Committee recommends that the bills provide for the
renaming of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act to
explicitly recognise the Act’s new heritage protection role.
Recommendation 3.1
The Committee recommends that section 5 of the Australian
Heritage Council Bill 1999 be amended to broaden the roles of the Council to
reflect those of the existing Commission set out in section 7 of the Australian
Heritage Commission Act 1975, and in particular to enable the Council to
act both on its own motion and on the request of the Minister.
Recommendation 3.2
The Committee recommends that the Australian Heritage
Council Bill 2000 be amended to include the reporting powers of the Commission
provided for under section 7(d) of the Australian Heritage Commission Act
1975.
Recommendation 3.3
The Committee recommends that section 324Q of the Australian
Heritage Council Bill 2000 be amended to require the Minister to consult with
the Council before creating, amending or revoking management plans for a
national heritage place. If the Minister does not follow the Council’s
recommendations, the Minister should publish his or her reasons in the
Government Gazette.
Recommendation 3.4
The Committee recommends that the Government amend section 7
of the Australian Heritage Council Bill 1999 to retain the qualifications
required for the present Australian Heritage Commission in section 12(4) of the
Australian Heritage Commission Act 1975, or that it adopt the approach
used to select members of the Biological Diversity Advisory Committee under the
EPBC Act.
Recommendation 3.5
The Committee recommends that the Government give further
consideration to the size of the Heritage Council and whether its membership of
seven it adequate to deal with its roles and responsibilities.
Recommendation 4.1
The Committee recommends that the Government retain the
Register of the National Estate and that the Register continues to be actively
developed and expanded.
Recommendation 4.2
The Committee recommends that the definition of
‘environment’ in section 528 of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity
Conservation Act 1999 be amended to include the term ‘heritage’.
Recommendation 5.1
The Committee recommends that the Government incorporate all
heritage properties on Commonwealth land that appear on the Register of the
National Estate into the Commonwealth Heritage List.
Recommendation 5.2
The Committee recommends that Commonwealth heritage places
should be recognised as matters of national environmental significance.
Recommendation 5.3
The Committee recommends that the Minister should release
the Commonwealth Heritage Values criteria, and the Management Principles in
draft or final form, before any final debate of the bills takes place.
Recommendation 5.4
The Committee recommends that the Environment and Heritage
Legislation Amendment Bill (No. 2) 2000 be amended to require the release, on
request, of AHC assessments of heritage values and listing.
Recommendation 5.5
The Committee recommends the Government consider amendments
to sections 324J and 341J of the Environment and Heritage Legislation Amendment
Bill (No. 2) 2000 that would serve to either clarify the exact meaning of the
phrase ‘in the interests of Australia’s defence or security’, and require that
decisions to remove a place from a Commonwealth or National Heritage List be
executed by disallowable instrument.
Recommendation 5.6
The Committee recommends that the Government amend the bills
to require Commonwealth agencies to implement a heritage inventory of their
property portfolios that will properly identify and assess heritage values.
Commonwealth agencies should be further required to review their inventories at
least every five years.
Recommendation 5.7
The Committee recommends that the Government amend the
Environment and Heritage Legislation Amendment Bill (No. 2) 2000 to require
Commonwealth agencies to prepare and maintain a heritage strategy for the
management of their heritage places as was recommended by the Schofield Report.
Recommendation 5.8
The Committee recommends that the Government amend the
Environment and Heritage Legislation Amendment Bill (No. 2) 2000 to require
Commonwealth agencies to undertake a survey of the heritage values of all newly
acquired properties in accordance with standards and guidelines provided by the
Australian Heritage Council.
Recommendation 5.9
The Committee recommends that the Environment and Heritage
Legislation Amendment Bill (No. 2) 2000 be amended to require reviews of
management plans for both the National and Commonwealth Heritage Lists every
five years.
Recommendation 5.10
The Committee recommends that the Government consider
broadening the reporting requirements to include the range of matters suggested
by submissions.
Recommendation 5.11
The Committee recommends that Commonwealth Departments and
agencies detail the implementation of their heritage strategies in their annual
reports.
Recommendation 5.12
The Committee recommends that the Government give further
consideration to the range of measures offered to assist the owners of heritage
properties including grants and tax and other concessions.
Recommendation 5.13
The Committee recommends that sections 324Y and 341ZA of the
Environment and Heritage Legislation Amendment Bill (No. 2) 2000 be amended to
enable Commonwealth funding assistance to any heritage place.
Recommendation 5.14
The Committee recommends that the Commonwealth Government
give priority to negotiations with the state and territory governments that
will clarify the role and extent of Commonwealth Government funding in relation
to overall heritage protection.
Recommendation 6.1
The Committee recommends that the Government consider means
to ensure that the range of actions triggering assessment under the Australian
Heritage Commission Act 1975 are also assessed under the proposed regime,
especially with regard to the sale of Commonwealth properties and to the
assessment of grants.
Recommendation 6.2
The Committee recommends that the Government consider
additional administrative means to protect Commonwealth Heritage List places
upon sale or disposal, incorporating a range of methods, including listing, to
ensure the preservation of these properties.
Recommendation 6.3
The Committee recommends that the Government table the
proposed definition of ‘significant impact’ in relation to natural heritage
places, before any further debate on the bills takes place.
Recommendation 6.4
The Committee recommends that the Government place the
definition of ‘significant impact’ in regulations created pursuant to the EPBC
Act.
Recommendation 6.5
The Committee recommends that in framing the definition of
‘significant impact’ for heritage places, in the regulations, specific
consideration should be given to including impacts caused by cumulative
actions.
Recommendation 6.6
The Committee recommends that for places on the Commonwealth
Heritage List, the Government include in the definition of ‘significant impact’
the neglect of the place.
Recommendation 6.7
The Committee recommends that the Government specifically
addresses the issue of the neglect of places on the Register of the National
Estate and National Heritage List through the adoption of measures such as
management plans and grants funding.
Recommendation 6.8
The Committee recommends that sections 15B and 15C of the
Environment and Heritage Legislation Amendment Bill (No. 2) 2000 be amended to
prohibit any significant impacts on ‘a heritage place or its heritage values’.
Recommendation 6.9
The Committee recommends that the Government consider
incorporating a formal analysis of options and alternatives into section 341Y
of the Environment and Heritage Legislation Amendment Bill (No. 2) 2000.
Recommendation 7.1
The Committee recommends that the Government provide full
details about the relationship between indigenous heritage protection in the
proposed EPBC regime and the ATSHIP Act prior to the Senate’s consideration of
the bills. Indigenous people should be given the opportunity to comment on the
Government’s response.
Recommendation 7.2
The Committee recommends that the Government provide a full
response to the recommendations contained in the Evatt Report.
Recommendation 7.3
The Committee recommends that the Government investigate
with indigenous people the appropriateness of placing all indigenous sites
currently on the RNE onto the Commonwealth List.
Recommendation 7.4
The Committee also recommends that the Government engage in
further consultations with indigenous people about the best means to ensure the
long term protection of heritage of significance to Aboriginal people.
Recommendation 7.5
The Committee recommends that the Government take
appropriate steps to ensure that Australia’s indigenous heritage protection
laws reflect the principles and rights embodied in international legal
instruments.
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